Delegation from Seoul heading to North Korea to advance nuclear talks

SEOUL — South Korea’s president will send a special delegation to North Korea for talks on a nuclear standoff and to set up a summit planned for this month, his office said.

The trip on Wednesday comes amid growing worry over the slow pace of getting North Korea to end its nuclear program following President Trump’s Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. Trump declared the summit a success and suggested the nuclear issue would be solved, but there has since been widespread doubt over Kim’s willingness to relinquish his nukes. Many analysts believe Kim sees them as crucial for staying in power.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are set to meet this month in Pyongyang for their third summit. Details for the summit, including exactly when it will happen, have not been disclosed.

South Korea on Friday sent a message to Pyongyang proposing it send a special envoy and North Korea agreed, Moon’s office said in a statement.

“The special envoys will have extensive discussions with their North Korean counterparts, covering a concrete schedule for the upcoming inter-Korean summit and the development of inter-Korean relations as well as denuclearization and the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.

Moon’s office said it hasn’t decided who it will send to North Korea or how long its delegation will stay there.

The announcement came shortly after Trump shelved a trip by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang, citing lack of progress on denuclearization, but remaining open to future talks.

Trump has been heaping blame on China, North Korea’s traditional ally and main trading partner. On Wednesday, Trump accused Beijing of pressuring the North because of current tensions in U.S.-China trade relations, and also of providing North Korea money, fuel, fertilizer and other commodities in violation of international sanctions.

Moon, a liberal who favors a negotiated resolution to the nuclear disputes, earlier shuttled between North Korea and the United States before the Singapore meeting, the first summit between a North Korean and U.S. leader.

In March, Moon sent special envoys to North Korea who later traveled to Washington with Kim’s proposal for a summit with Trump. Moon held a summit with Kim in April, during which Kim agreed to work toward “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Moon met Kim again in May when Trump said he was withdrawing from the planned summit with Kim — a decision Trump quickly reversed.